Crab-Quinoa Stuffed Poblanos

Tonight's dinner recipe is a flavorful dish that is sure to delight the tastebuds... without throwing your dedication to clean eating out the window! I came up with this recipe since I had a couple leftover Poblano peppers from the pulled pork Poblano I posted about the other day. I couldn't quite figure out what to do with them, but then I figured--- "when in doubt, STUFF IT!" The recipe tuned out awesome: the quinoa gives the stuffing a bit of crunch and texture, the crab meat is savory and moist, and the heat from the peppers and spices is juuuuuust right. As always, I can never go the full "Muddy Melissa level" of spiciness whenever Steve's around... he's a wimp when it comes to spicy foods!

Look at those colors! A feast for the taste buds and the eyes too!

Recipe:
Crab-Quinoa Stuffed Poblanos (Serves 2)

2 Poblano peppers, halved longways
8 Ounces crab meat
1/2 Cup cooked quinoa
1/4 Cup onion, diced
1/2 Cup sweet peppers, diced
1 Serrano pepper, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 Cup salsa (a clean variety--- I used peach mango salsa)

To prepare quinoa, boil 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water until the edges of the quinoa become translucent. Quinoa (roughly) doubles when cooked, so cook half as much uncooked as you will need cooked. For example, for this recipe, you should cook 1/4 cup uncooked quinoa in 1/2 cup water to yield 1/2 cup cooked quinoa. Drain the quinoa if necessary.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a lightly oiled pan over the stove, cook the onions, sweet peppers, and Serrano pepper until tender. Remove from heat. In a bowl, combine crab meat, cooked quinoa, onions, sweet peppers, Serrano pepper, salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika, and salsa until thoroughly mixed.

Slice the Poblano peppers longways to stuff with crab-quinoa stuffing

Place the Poblano pepper halves on a foiled baking sheet. Spoon the crab-quinoa stuffing into the pepper halves. Sprinkle with additional paprika as garnish if desired. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the peppers begin to become tender (but not mushy!). Serve with a dollop of nonfat plain Greek yogurt in lieu of sour cream, additional salsa, or some homemade guacamole. Enjoy!

I absolutely loved this recipe. It combined two things I love: spicy food and seafood! I was a happy camper eating this, and this recipe will surely be in my personal go-to recipe book from now on! Happy clean eating guys!